World News - Man Charged in Deaths of 7 Prostitutes in Detroit; Suspected in at Least 14 Deaths

A man suspected of killing seven prostitutes over the past five years was charged with murder Tuesday, and police said he is a suspect in as many as 14 deaths in the city. Shelly Andre Brooks is charged with seven counts of premeditated murder and seven counts of felony murder. The 37-year-old Detroit resident could face life in prison if convicted. The seven victims ranged in age from 30 to 53 and were drug users, police said. All were raped, beaten to death, and their bodies were left on the city's east side, some in buildings and others in vacant lots. ... http://abcnews.go.com

The U.S. military has evacuated 200 people from Wake Island before the arrival of Typhoon Ioke, the strongest Central Pacific hurricane in more than decade.Classified as a Category 5 "super typhoon," Ioke is expected to extensively damage the U.S. territory when it hits Wednesday with 155-mph winds, said Jeff Powell, lead forecaster for the National Weather Service in Honolulu."This is going to roll up a storm surge that will probably submerge the island and destroy everything that's not made of concrete," Powell said.The evacuees, mostly American and Thai contractors, on Monday were flown to Hickam Air Force Base on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, said Maj. Clare Reed, a spokeswoman for the 15th Airlift Wing.The contractors work at a civilian base, Reed said. No other permanent residents live on the tiny island, she said.Ioke had winds of 160 mph and gusts up to 185 mph on Monday, Powell said. ...http://www.cnn.com/2006/WEATHER/08/29/wake.island.evac.ap/index.html?section=cnn_us

At least two dozen bodies, many bearing signs of torture, were found dumped in Shiite areas of Baghdad on Tuesday, and the government almost doubled the death toll from clashes this week between militiamen and Iraqi forces, saying 73 people had died. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's office announced that 50 gunmen loyal to firebrand anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr had been killed in clashes in the southern city of Diwaniyah with the Iraqi army, which lost 23 troops. The death toll was significantly higher than the 40 people initially reported to have been killed Monday before a deal between the Shiite militiamen and the government ended a fierce, 12-hour street battle. Diwaniyah was calm Tuesday, residents and officials said, but an explosion at an oil pipeline south of the city killed at least 27 people. The cause was unclear, but police said people had been siphoning oil, which can cause accidental explosions. ...http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/02/24/iraq/main541815.shtml?source=RSS&attr=World_541815

The U.S. space shuttle Atlantis left its seaside launch pad on Tuesday on a slow, day-long ride back to shelter to ride out expected high winds and rain from Tropical Storm Ernesto, NASA said. The move is likely to end the U.S. space agency's hopes of launching the shuttle by the end of its current launch window on September 7, in what would be the first International Space Station assembly mission since the 2003 Columbia disaster. The window is determined by a variety of technical factors, including the position of the space station, the angle of the sun and newly imposed restrictions by NASA to launch only during daylight so cameras can have clear views of the shuttle's external fuel tank. Foam insulation falling off the tank during launch triggered the Columbia disaster, which claimed the lives of seven astronauts. NASA has redesigned the tank twice since...http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2370091

The nation’s poverty rate was essentially unchanged last year, the first year it hasn’t increased since before President Bush took office.The Census Bureau reported Tuesday that 37 million Americans were living under the poverty line last year — about 12.6 percent of the population. That’s down from 12.7 percent in 2004, but census officials said the change was statistically insignificant.The median household income — the point at which half make more and half make less — was $46,300, a slight increase from 2004. However, the number of people without health insurance increased to 46.6 million in 2005. About 45.3 million people were without insurance the year before...http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14570125/

A Malian man has died after he and 50 other would-be migrants were dumped by the Moroccan authorities in the Sahara. The group, including citizens of Mali, Senegal, Gambia, Ivory Coast and Guinea had been trying to reach Europe in small boats when they were intercepted. They were left in a desert border zone between Mauritania and Western Sahara without food or water, aid workers say. Over 18,000 African migrants have arrived on the Canary Islands in boats this year, hoping for jobs in the EU. "Neither the Moroccans nor the Mauritanians accept them on their territory," Ahmedou Ould Haye of the Mauritanian Red Crescent told Reuters news agency. Spanish relief agency Medicos del Mundo said its members had brought them food, water and plastic sheets with which to build shelters. Mauritania has reported finding the bodies of 16 migrants washed up on its beaches in recent days. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5294562.stm